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Toby Williams
Federated Farmers meat and wool chair, Toby Williams says what the Government has effectively signed up for is a decade more of planting pine trees on productive land because that’s the only way for our country to achieve such a steep reduction.
He says even by 2035, as half of New Zealand’s emissions are from agriculture, a target of 51-55% is still not feasible.
Williams says the only other option is to spend billions of dollars overseas to buy offshore credits, or plant pine trees, destroying our iconic and world-famous landscapes. He notes that last year, the Climate Commission suggested keeping an all-gases target and at least a 50% reduction, which would mean another 850,000 hectares of land converted to forestry.
“To paint a clear picture, that’s an area five times the size of our country’s treasured Molesworth Station. That would be devastating, forever changing the face of New Zealand,” he says.
Williams says there is a very real risk that we could become the great pine plantation of the South Pacific - hardly something to be proud of.
“The Government needs to be setting climate targets that are realistic and achievable,” he says.
Central Otago District Council (CODC) has voted against a plan to spread treated sewage sludge from Cromwell and Alexandra on farmland near Lauder, a decision Federated Farmers says reflects strong opposition from rural residents.
Federated Farmers has called on Central Otago District Council (CODC) to drop or vote down a plan to truck sludge from Alexandra and Cromwell to farmland near Lauder, warning it would compound an "outrageous" situation created by a separate council's decision weeks earlier.
Federated Farmers says new legislation replacing the Resource Management Act will cut red tape, unlock investment and help grow New Zealand's export-led economy, after the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill passed their third reading in Parliament yesterday.
Leading figures from the major political parties will be questioned on their primary sector policies at the Rural Issues Debate at Mystery Creek Events Centre, Hamilton, on 30 September.
Will the good times last? That's one of the key issues to come out of the latest Federated Farmers confidence survey.
There are five entrants in this year’s Young Horticulturist of the Year, competing in a series of technical, practical, business and leadership challenges.
A seasoned horticulturist has been appointed to deliver the Apple Action Plan, a key initiative of the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement.
New Zealand's citrus growers have been told to compete on the value built into their fruit rather than the volume they grow.
Hawke's Bay fruit growers are being reminded of the need to prepare for whatever the El Niño weather system may bring in the coming months.
Three and a half years on from when Cyclone Gabrielle hit Hawke's Bay, some orchardists in the region are still receiving counselling to help them deal with the trauma they suffered.
South of the central Hawke’s Bay town of Waipukurau is Taniwha Station – a highly successful 550ha bull beef farming operation.
